Celebrating Baby Wearing

It’s International Baby Wearing week this week (queue the cheers) and baby wearers up and down the land are writing posts about the joys of carrying your baby.

Before I had a child, I thought baby carriers and slings were for hippies and those annoying parents who like to be a bit edgy and different. As with most things parent related, I was clueless. Baby carriers are mint and until you’ve used one, you can’t appreciate the absolute brilliance of baby wearing until you’ve done it. Who knew having free hands would become such a novelty?!

There are tonnes of positives when it comes to baby wearing; closeness, stability and safety are to name but a few. Not only that, carrying a heavy baby round in your arms is tough.

I’m a lover of my Baby Bjorn sling. I’ve got the One Air and I absolutely adore the thing. It gets on my goat when people say silly things about Baby Bjorn slings; not because I have any affiliation to them, but because most of the claims are laughable. The ergonomic design is second to none and from the research I’ve read, Baby Bjorn carriers are among the safest with regard to your baby’s hips. From first hand experience, our boy likes it more than the buggy (or any other mode of Baby transport).

If you’re not in to the chunky carriers, there are some beautiful fabric based carriers around. The Izmi Perma-hug is designed brilliantly and allows a close and secure carry of you little one – what I like Most about this type of carrier is that you are so close to your baby. Soft? Yea totally. Do I care? No.

Being a carrying dad (I’m going to use this more often) you sometimes get some funny looks. I’m a proud carrier. I like baby wearing. It’s a great way to get the baby around and it keeps you surprisingly fit too. Lugging round a sleeping 10kg deadweight gets the blood pumping. Maybe it’s the funny looks that stop people trying it in the first place. Maybe I used to give people funny looks when I was carrier prejudice…

International Baby Wearing Week aims to celebrate the successes and positivity of carrying your baby. If you’ve not tried it, baby Wearing comes highly recommended from this dad.